After debating about hitting the slopes on Saturday, the gang opted for the Museum of Flight and the supermall. The kids went to the supermall, and the adults went to the museum. It had been about ten years since I'd been to the museum and it was great. They have added a new building with lots of WWI and WWII fighter planes, all very neatly exhibited. We also got to go in the Concorde and Air Force One. We all met up at Ikeas for Swedish meatballs. Today we went to Saltys in Redondo Beach for brunch, where we met Jenny, who was coming back from Oregon. Saltys supposedly has the most extravagant brunch buffet in the Puget Sound, and I believe it. The Eides particularly enjoy the seafood twist to it. We said good-bye to Bjorn and Jenny and all headed back to our quiet homes and our weekly routines.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
Thanksgiving with the Eides
Esther's brothers and their families are in Southworth this weekend. The house is full of laughter and activity. It seems like we go from one meal to another in one long procession. Calvin and the Sedgwick marching band earned the 'spirit award' at the Macy's Day Parade this morning. They got real wet, but had a lot of fun.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
the faux maestro at work
The last couple of nights I have been working on repainting our master bath. The existing wall paper is pretty wild and 70's like. We have been putting up with it for two years now, but Esther said it was time for the new look. I basically used the same colors for the base and glazing that I had in the bedroom, but it turned out a lot darker. It's a good thing the bathroom is large and very light with a skylight. Tonight we are preparing for company, as we will have the house full for the next several days. Bjorn is even returning home late tonight.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Don's Dangerous Dakar Donkey
Don recently purchased a motorcycle for his daily commute to work. It is a sweet machine! A BMW 650 GS. Though the bike is more fitted to negotiate the trails of the Andes Mountains than the pavement of Highway 16, Don does enjoy his new mode of transportation. Maybe someday he'll tackle the Alaskan tundra or the Baja desert. The smart looking riding gear hides a cautious middle aged school teacher.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Negotiating a tight corner
Positioning my 23 ft boat beside the garage is somewhat of a delicate feat. Last year I was able to do it with a stressed out wife and patient teenage sons. This year I decided to do it with a little more finesse- I bought a come along. Everything worked like a charm, and the boat is safely stowed away next to her sister and out of sight.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Sister Saturday
Esther and I had lunch with my sisters. Ellen just flew in from Sacramento this morning, and Sue picked her up from the airport. We met them in Tacoma at Applebees. We had a good time and overstayed our welcome at the restaurant. We enjoyed discussing everything from parenting to real estate. Since we are all in the education profession, we have a lot in common. Ellen will be spending the week with mom in Lynden as Sacramento schools have the whole week off. I was able to mow the lawn this morning, hopefully for the last time this year.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Lessons in Love and Logic
For years I have heard things about 'Love and Logic,' but today Don and I had the opportunity to go to a one day seminar in Shoreline instead of our usual teaching duties. It was presented by Charles Fay, the son of the founder of L+L. He was very entertaining and easy to listen to. The principles that were presented were very simple and practical. Love and Logic is an approach to discipline which helps kids own and solve their own problems. Some of my favorite 'sound bites' were "Plug the holes before you launch the boat" and "The more I worry about another person's life the less he has to." He did wet my appetite to read the book for teachers. Their material looks like a great resource for parents as well.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
cyber word
I have been exploring a new release of an online Bible available at bible.org. It was put together by conservative scholars and has great textual notes regarding manuscripts and lexical information. It is also has an innovative approach to copyright issues. Tommorrow will be a different day as Don and I were given a professional day to attend a seminar in Shoreline. Don't forget to check Bjorn's blog about New Orleans. He's written more in the last weekend than he has this whole semester.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
The Bishops pay a visit
Today is my sister Susan's birthday and we had the opportunity to host a celebration with her children and grandchildren. Jack and Sue came from Olympia; Aaron, Jen and their two boys Jorren and Caden came down from Monroe; and Sarah, Mike and Anika from Bellevue, all came over for a midday meal. It was great seeing everyone, especially Mike and Sarah in their new role as parents. Our house received a preview of future grandchildren as the grandneice/nephews explored the environment. Caden is following in his brother Jorren's footsteps and Anika is a bundle of energy.
Bjorn and Jenny's New Orleans Adventure
Bjorn and Jenny are having a unique opportunity this 'reading break' as they are part of a ministry team working in New Orleans. Bjorn is blogging quite faithfully so it is fun to follow their daily adventures. You can read a lot more about it by clicking 'Bjorn's blog' under links. To see more of his pictures, click on the photo in his blog and then click 'photostream'.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
picking up the pieces
Some of you may remember that last spring we had several laptops stolen from our classroom. It was very discouraging to me as I had been collecting these ten year old laptops off from eBay and loading them with math software to use in our math program. After they were stolen, I just did not have the motivation to start over again. However, recently I have started to collect and fix some more computers. Most of them are Powerbook 5300s which was the last model before CD drives were installed. Therefore, they are not that valuable to the main market, but fit our needs quite well. There is plenty of educational software that will work on them, and with an external floppy connected to my eMac, I can print any of their word processing. So if you have any or know of any old Powerbooks, and you want to donate to a good community cause, just let me know.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
the winch saga continues
What I thought was the last resort for my keel problem turned out to be another adventure. I was confident that a haul out in a sling could easily be dropped on the trailer. Unfortunately, they could not drop it, because as they tried to lower it, the boat would lean one way or the other. So when I went to pick the boat up last night, it was still in the sling and I was told that I needed to replace the winch overnight or the they could work on it the next day at $75/hour. Needless to say, I spent last night at the boat yard putting in a makeshift winch in order to retract the 600 lb. keel. Fortunately, things worked as planned and I was able to retract the keel. The haul out seemed like a waste since I could have installed a winch in the water. One good thing was that I was able to attach a new cable to keel which I could not do on the trailer or in the water. Well, tonight I hauled the boat home and it is safely on the property, though it will be another adventure getting it beside the garage.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
hauling out Ellen Maria
This morning we awoke to a power outage. It was pretty widespread. We had church services without electricity and without pastors (all were at a retreat this weekend) After church, (power back on) we enjoyed a brunch with nephews, Mikal and Zachary, who were here from Lynden for a short visit. Since I had been unsuccessful at raising the keel on the sailboat, I made arrangements for a crane haul out in Port Orchard for tomorrow. But that meant I had to get the boat to PO by tonight. Yesterday was a miserable weather day, and today promised to be a little better. So I spent this afternoon motoring Ellen Maria the ten miles through Rich Passage and to Dockside Marina. The sun was out most of the time, but it was windy and cold. I reminded myself that I am a summer sailor for good reason. I was a little apprehensive about the little old Mercury outboard, but once again 'old faithful' came through. It took me about two and half hours, and I made it before dark. The picture of Ellen Maria is from about a month ago. I didn't take my camera today, though I should have.
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